Open Access
Design of a multifrequency antenna array with the use of left-handed superstrates
(2005) Sáenz Sáinz, Elena; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Maagt, Peter de; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
In this paper, the radiation performances of different antenna configuration based on Left-Handed superstrates are presented. First of all, the behaviour of a Left- Handed (LH) unit cell is analysed, showing a resonant response with pass band and stop band frequencies. In order to improve the radiation performances of a single dipole, ie., to increase the directivity and efficiency and to reduce the back radiation, diverse LH superstrates working at the resonant frequency of the dipole are analysed. With these configurations, improvements in terms of directivity higher than 6 dB with efficiency closer to 100 % have been obtained.
Open Access
Decoupling of multifrequency dipole antenna arrays for microwave imaging applications
(Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2010) Sáenz Sáinz, Elena; Guven, K.; Ozbay, Ekmel; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
The mutual coupling between elements of a multifrequency dipole antenna array is experimentally investigated by S-parameter measurements and planar near-field scanning of the radiated field. A multifrequency array with six dipoles is analyzed. In order to reduce the coupling between dipoles, a planarmetasurface is placed atop the array acting as superstrate. Themutual coupling of the antenna elements in the absence and presence of the superstrate is presented comparatively. Between 3 and 20 dB mutual coupling reduction is achieved when the superstrate is used. By scanning the field radiated by the antennas and far-field measurements of the radiation pattern, it is observed that the superstrate confines the radiated power, increases the boresight radiation, and reduces the endfire radiation.
Open Access
Fe-rich ferromagnetic wires for self-sensing materials
(IEEE, 2012) Liberal Olleta, Íñigo; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
The possibility of using Fe-rich wires in mechanical stress self-sensing materials is investigated. To this end, a retrieval technique aimed to characterize the high-frequency magnetoimpedance effect in ferromagnetic wires under mechanical stresses is proposed. The technique is based on the measurement of the wires inside a metallic rectangular waveguide, and it is validated through numerical simulations and tested with already published experimental data. In addition, the studied Fe-rich wires are characterized by the occurrence of the natural ferromagnetic resonance, whose frequency position increases from 7 GHz to 8.25 GHz for elongations ranging from 0 μm to 60 μm.
Open Access
A water content continuous monitoring of grapevine xylem tissue using a portable low-power cost-effective FMCW radar
(IEEE, 2019) Quemada Mayoral, Carlos; García González, Cebrián; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Marín Ederra, Diana; Gastón Beraza, Diego; Miranda Jiménez, Carlos; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Maestrojuán Biurrun, Itziar; Santesteban García, Gonzaga; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua, PI025 VITHZ; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua, 0011-1365-2016-000084 RAFF
This paper presents the real-time monitoring of a grapevine’s water content that flows up through the xylem tissue by means of a frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar. The application of an optimization process, based on the super-resolution multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm, has enabled the reduction of the bandwidth required to discern the xylem water content, and thus the operating frequency, achieving a depth resolution of at least 3 mm. This design advantage has resulted in a significant step forward towards a real life application, allowing the use of fully-integrated off-the-shelf components in order to implement a completely portable low-power cost-effective radar at 23.1 GHz with a 3.4 GHz bandwidth. The sensor performance has been evaluated by means of three different experiments: irrigation cycles, day/night cycles and comparison between irrigation cycles at different temperatures. From the experimental results, it is possible to assert that the contactless sensor presented in this work is very sensitive to changes in the plant’s water content, differentiating between daytime and nighttime. In addition, it has been proved that temperature has a noticeable influence over the evapotranspiration, observing negative drying slopes of 5.62 mV/cycle and 6.28 mV/cycle at 23ºC and 26ºC respectively.
Open Access
A gap waveguide fed circular polarization antennas in the millimeter wave range
(IEEE, 2020) Pérez Quintana, Dayan; Torres García, Alicia E.; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
In this work, a novel circular polarization (CP) antennas in ridge gap waveguide (RGW) working in the V-band of the millimeter-wave spectrum is presented. CP is generated in a simple and effective way by means of two orthogonal feeder arms that excite a CP in a rotated square-shaped slot placed on top metallic lid. Parametric simulation studies demonstrate that a difference between both arms length of approximately λ/4 leads to high-purity CP within a relatively broad bandwidth. A square-shaped slot antenna is manufactured and experimentally analyzed. A broadband matching with a reflection coefficient magnitude below -10 dB (S11 <; -10 dB) is achieved from 60.5 to 69.3 GHz. Applying the axial ratio criterion (AR <; 3 dB) the bandwidth in CP is 10.74%, with respect to the central frequency. The maximum gain at broadside is 5.49 dB at 66.8 GHz.
Open Access
Evaluation of mutual coupling between slots in a metasurface enhanced SIW slotted antenna
(IEEE, 2023-10-26) Chocarro Álvarez, Javier; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
In this paper, we explore the conductance properties of a longitudinal slot on a substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) with three different models. These models allow us to evaluate the impact on the slot conductance of covering it with a metasurface to improve the radiation performance. In particular, the influence of the MTS on the coupling between slots will be analyzed. Our results show that the presence of the MTS reduces the slot conductance and slot resonance length, but has limited impact on the coupling.
Open Access
Induction theorem analysis of resonant nanoparticles: design of a huygens source nanoparticle laser
(American Physical Society, 2014) Liberal Olleta, Íñigo; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Ziolkowski, Richard W.; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
We propose an advanced formulation of standard antenna theory for the basic investigation and design of resonant nanoparticles. This methodology is based on transforming the original scattering problem into a radiation configuration by invoking the induction theorem. Then applying basic antenna theory principles, such as the suppression of any reactive power, the properties of the resonances are engineered. This nanoantenna approach has been validated by revisiting a number of well-known multilayered core-shell structures. It provides additional important physical insights into how the core-shell structures operate and it enables combinations of different resonant phenomena associated with them, e.g., plasmonic and high-ϵ resonances, in an intuitive manner. Its efficacy is demonstrated by designing a multilayered nanoparticle that achieves lasing with a maximum directivity in the forward direction and a null in the backward direction, i.e., a Huygens source nanoparticle laser.
Open Access
Towards optimal binary patterns for compressive terahertz single-pixel imaging
(IEEE, 2024-04-26) Ndagijimana, Adolphe; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Heredia Conde, Miguel; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza
Terahertz (THz) radiation's properties make it ideal for various imaging applications. However, creating simple, cost-effective, and high-resolution THz array detectors is challenging. Mechanical scanning is commonly used but creates a trade-off between frame rate and resolution. Fortunately, Compressive Sensing (CS) offers a solution by reducing the required number of measurements needed compared to Shannon-Nyquist's sampling theory. CS-THz imaging is usually implemented using a single-pixel camera with spatial modulation patterns, mostly binary patterns. However, the non-uniform and diffraction propagation present in the THz range affects the mutual coherence of the resulting sensing matrices resulting in image reconstruction degradation. In this paper, we introduce an optimization procedure for generating binary patterns that consider THz diffraction and non-uniform illumination of the mask. The produced sensing matrices exhibit low coherence compared to other typical binary sensing matrices, resulting in a higher reconstruction performance than all others.
Open Access
Single-pixel compressive terahertz 3D imaging
(IEEE, 2025-04-24) Ndagijimana, Adolphe; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Heredia Conde, Miguel; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
Terahertz (THz) imaging contends with the lack of cost-effective, off-the-shelf high-resolution array detectors and the slow acquisition speeds associated with pixel-by-pixel raster scanning. Single-pixel imaging with Compressive Sensing (CS) represents a potential solution for resolution and acquisition speed in a cost-efficient manner. Our paper introduces a novel approach for extending 2D single-pixel THz imaging systems to 3D using a single frequency. By leveraging the single-pixel approach, we achieve 3D resolution while avoiding mechanical scanning, and the use of a single frequency eliminates the need for bandwidth, a significant limitation of conventional techniques, where design of THz sources and detectors with large bandwidth remains challenging and typically complex. The Order Recursive Matching Pursuit (ORMP) algorithm is used as the sparse recovery method to exploit the sparsity/compressibility of the 3D THz signal and enable sampling at a rate far lower than that required by the Nyquist Theorem. The 2D sensing matrix is obtained by analyzing the diffracted propagation of THz imaging systems on a 2D surface perpendicular to the optical axis. Moreover, the 3D sensing matrix is based on the diffracted propagation of 2D surfaces at different sampling depth positions. Our system can quickly capture the reflective properties of every point in a 3D space using a single-pixel camera setup that leverages CS, making it a simple and efficient method for creating a fast 3D THz imaging system, particularly suited to high-frequency THz sources that operate efficiently at a single frequency or at small bandwidth.
Open Access
Design of 300 ghz combined doubler/subharmonic mixer based on schottky diodes with integrated mmic based local oscillator
(MDPI, 2020) Pérez Escudero, José Manuel; Quemada Mayoral, Carlos; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
In this paper the design and experimental characterization of a combined doublersubharmonic mixer based on Schottky diodes which uses a 75 GHz MMIC based local oscillator is presented. This solution integrates in the same substrate the doubler and the mixer, which share the same metallic packaging with the local oscillator. The prototype has been fabricated and measured. For characterization, the Y-Factor technique has been used and the prototype yields a best conversion loss and equivalent noise temperature of 11 dB and 1976 K, respectively, at 305 GHz. This performance is close to the state of the art, and shows the potential of this approach, which allows a significant reduction in terms of size and volume.